IMF: Trade through Suez Canal down 50 percent year-on-year in two months
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that the trade volume in the Suez Canal decreased by 50 percent year-on-year in the first two months of the year.
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In a blog post published by the IMF, it was stated that attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global trade.
The post noted that global trade has been hampered in the last few months due to disruptions in two critical shipping routes, and that attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea have reduced traffic in the Suez Canal, which is the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe and normally handles approximately 15 percent of global maritime trade.
The post stated that some shipping companies have diverted their vessels to the Cape of Good Hope, adding that this situation has increased delivery times by an average of 10 days or more and has harmed companies with limited inventory.
The post recorded that the trade volume in the Suez Canal decreased by 50 percent in the first two months of the year compared to the same period last year, while the trade volume at the Cape of Good Hope is estimated to have increased by 74 percent in the same period.
TRADE IN PANAMA CANAL DOWN 32 PERCENT DUE TO DROUGHT
The post also stated that severe drought in the Panama Canal has forced authorities to implement restrictions that have significantly reduced daily ship transits since October of last year, slowing down maritime trade at a key chokepoint through which approximately 5 percent of global maritime trade passes.
The post noted that the trade volume in the Panama Canal has also fallen by nearly 32 percent compared to last year.
The post stated that in the first two months of the year, voyages to 70 ports in Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a 6.7 percent decline compared to last year, while there was a 5.3 percent decrease in the European Union, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
The post indicated that these declines likely reflect the temporary effects of extended shipping times.
The IMF's blog post warned that if these disruptions continue, they could create temporary obstacles for some supply chains in affected countries and cause upward pressure on inflation, partly due to higher shipping costs.